


Heart of Metal, Heart of Glass

by Stingythefish



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Drama, F/F, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Romance, bit of a slowburn?, miu slowly falls for kaede, not sure idk how long this'll take
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25854793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stingythefish/pseuds/Stingythefish
Summary: Miu Iruma is in university, pursuing her love of inventing while slacking off in classes and generally making poor decisions. She doesn't really have any friends--that annoying Shuichi doesn't count--and that's just fine with her. She's not interested in anything sappy or sentimental like friends or romance.No matter how lonely she feels.What she doesn't count on is meeting Kaede Akamatsu, a friendly, witty pianist with the strange ability to make Miu's heart flutter and her legs go weak. It's probably nothing, Miu tells herself. She's not gay, after all.It's nothing. Right?
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Party

Knocking.

“Miu?”

Pain. Miu groaned, and slowly pushed herself upright on her desk. Stray notes and blueprints were scattered across its surface, the late-night ramblings of her mind’s newest invention coming to life. Miu blinked, her head pounding, a dull pain rocketing through her body with each beat of her heart.  _ What…? _

Oh right. She was hungover.  _ How sorry, _ a thought wormed its way into her brain.  _ Miu Iruma, girl genius, getting drunk alone on a Thursday night? _ If she weren’t her, she would have laughed at herself.

“Miu!”

That voice again. Still half-asleep, hangover making it hard to think, Miu scowled at her dorm room’s door, the source of the speaker. “What?” Her voice was groggy.

“Are you...alright?” She recognized the voice, now. Shuichi Saihara, that irritating boy who for some reason insisted on being friends with Miu despite them only sharing two classes.

Slowly getting to her feet, Miu rubbed her temples. “Yeah, of course I am, dipshit. Why the fuck are you at my dorm?”

“Well, you didn’t show up at class today,” Shuichi said through the door. “I thought something might be wrong.”

Cursing as her head pounded, Miu made her way over to the door and threw it open. Shuichi stood there in his usual depressing black outfit. “I’m fine. Now fuck off.”

“You...sure?” He pointed to the side of her head. “You’ve got drool going down your chin, and your hair is plastered to your face.”

Reddening, Miu hurriedly wiped her face and fixed her hair. Stupid fucking Shuichi. “Way to go, Detective Jackass. I was sleeping, okay?”

Annoyingly, he didn’t take that as his cue to leave. “You slept through class? Why?”

“Do I have to give you a fucking rundown of my day? I just didn’t feel like going!” Pain ricocheted through her body as her voice rose.  _ God damnit… _

“Alright,” Shuichi said, backing away. “I also wanted to see...if you wanted to come to this party, tonight. It’s supposed to be at this girl Angie Yonaga’s house. At 10. If you weren’t busy.”

Miu managed a grin. “You askin’ me out on a date, Pooichi?”

He reddened. “What? No!”

She laughed raucously. “Ha! I’m just fucking with you. I know you don’t got the guts to actually ask anyone out! Still, I didn’t peg you as the partying type. Not that anyone’s peggin’ you at all.” She snickered at her own joke.

“Listen, my friend Kaede’s going, alright? I’m coming along to keep her company. And I know you’re kind of a wild person, so I just thought...you might like a party. Plus, it might be an opportunity for you to make...some friends…” He trailed off.

There was a silence.  _ I don’t want to make any fucking friends, _ Miu thought vehemently. “Whatever. I’ll come to your stupid party. But not because I’m interested in making ‘friends’.” She put the word in air quotes in front of her. “Because alcohol is the best way to get rid of a hangover.”

Shuichi blinked. “Wait, you have a hangove--”

Miu slammed the door. “Bye, Pooichi. See ya at 10!”

It took him a moment, but his footsteps indicated he’d finally decided to leave. Miu sighed, sliding against the door until she was sitting on the floor, legs splayed at odd angles before her. A party? It should have been exactly the thing she needed. She loved drinking, and drugs, and shouting raunchy things to other partygoers--everything commonly associated with a party. But for some reason, she didn’t feel as gung ho about going as she usually would have. Why?

Shuichi’s words echoed in her brain. An opportunity to make friends?  _ Who makes friends at a party? _ Parties were for getting laid, or passing out after having too many shots. Besides, Miu didn’t need any friends. She was fine all on her own.

Her head pounded, another wave of pain coursing through her body. She groaned. Yep, she was definitely going to have to go to that party. Anything to relieve this hangover. She glanced out her dorm window--there was still daylight, but the sun looked like it was close to setting. A clock of her own design displayed the time on the wall: 8:30.

Sighing, she stood up.  _ Guess I should get ready. _

Angie Yonaga’s house turned out to be one of the most pompous places Miu had ever seen. Expensive, and with architecture so strange it must have been designed by some self-important, artsy engineer, it made Miu groan as she approached the building. But, it was clearly hosting a party. Flashing lights and muffled music through the windows, cars parked halfway down the block, and people visible both inside and out. Apparently this Angie person was popular--or, at least, the fact that she was clearly rich attracted a lot of partygoers.

Miu shoved her hands in her pockets as she made her way up the walkway towards the house. She didn’t bother putting on anything fancy--this was clearly a house party, of the trashier variety, as opposed to a fancy rich people party where all you did was stand around with wine glasses and eat tiny portions of food. Trashiness was expected, and so Miu wore short shorts, a midriff-exposing camisole, and a light hoodie open in the front, to show off the girls. If there was anything going for Miu, besides her genius intellect, it was her rockin’ tits. Where better to show them off than a party?

Making her way through the front door, she found that the interior of the building was just as obnoxiously artsy as the outside, with nauseating decor. People mingled, chatting with drinks in their hands, and in the living room a makeshift dance floor was set up, complete with a dj.

An ahego caught her eye. Grinning, Miu found Shuichi by the snack bar, refilling his plastic cup.

“What’s up, Pooichi?”

He flinched. “O-Oh. Hey, Miu.”

Miu looked him up and down. He wore a painfully boring black t-shirt and plain pair of jeans. “What the fuck is this? Where’s your sense of party fashion?”

Shuichi blinked, and looked down at his clothes. “What’s wrong with it? I like t-shirt and jeans.”

“Pooichi, that’s what you wear  _ every _ day.”

He fidgeted. “So what?”

“ _ So _ you should be more adventurous! We’re at a party! Mix it up! Throw on a fuckin’ tank top or something. And try a different colour combination. All that black is depressing.” As she spoke, Miu looked around, noting the lack of people around the snack table. “Didn’t you say your friend was coming to this party?”

Shuichi nodded. “She just went to go say hi to someone. She’ll be back soon.”

As if on cue, a girl emerged from the crowd. With long blonde hair that tumbled over her shoulders and down her back, she wore a fashionable blue shirt with sleeves that were designed to fall down her arms and denim short shorts. The newcomer strode up to Shuichi with a friendly smile.

“Hey, Shuichi, I’m back. Who’s your friend?”

He gave a small smile. “This is Miu Iruma. We’re in Biochem and Film Studies together. Miu, this is Kaede Akamatsu.”

The girl, Kaede, stuck her hand out and gave Miu a bright smile. “Nice to meet you!”

Miu shook the hand. “You’re a good friend of Pooichi’s, huh?”

Kaede seemed to stumble at Miu’s extremely clever nickname, but recovered quickly. “Yep! Me and Shuichi go way back. We met in high school, when he was reading a detective novel while walking and bumped into me. I ended up dropping the sheet music I’d just printed off, and he stammered as we picked them up.” She gave a giggle.

Miu grinned, eyeing Shuichi. “Wow, you’ve been a nerd all your life, huh, Pooichi?”

He blushed. “I just like the stories. I...I don’t care about being a detective.”

“Shoulda chosen a different program, then,” Miu said.

“What program are you in, Miu?” Kaede asked, her cheery smile beginning to get on Miu’s nerves.

“Engineering,” she replied. “You’re looking at Miu Iruma, girl genius, inventor of the future. Just you wait, my inventions are gonna be powering the world in a few years!”

Kaede giggled. “I look forward to it!”

_ Damn right. _ Miu felt herself grow more confident. “And what are you studying?”

“Oh, I’m not in school,” the blonde replied. “Unless you count my constant lessons. Most of my time is spent practicing. I’m a pianist.”

“One of the best,” Shuichi added. “I’ve never seen anyone match up to Kaede’s skill on the piano.”

Kaede rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Ahaha, don’t flatter me, Shuichi!”

“Pianist, huh?” Miu didn’t really know anything about pianos, or classical music. Or music in general. She studied the blonde.  _ Take away that more casual outfit, and she does look like the stuffy, piano-playing type. _

Kaede nodded. “Yep! I’ve done it all my life. I love seeing people’s faces when they listen to my music. It’s the best feeling in the world!”

“Nah, the best feeling in the world is getting railed over a table at 2 AM. Ha ha!” Miu cackled. Kaede just stared in bewilderment. “Which is. Kinda the point of going to a party. What’s a stuffy cowtits bitch like you doing here, anyway?”

Kaede only seemed more baffled than ever. Shuichi sighed. “You’ll have to get used to Miu’s...vocabulary. She’s like this all the time.”

Kaede seemed to recover. “I...see. Well, I’m friends with Angie. The girl who’s hosting the party. Plus, I almost never get to go out. Figured I might as well make the most of my youth, right?”

“By getting railed over a table at 2 AM?” Miu guessed with a grin.

“Um...no.”

“Don’t tell me that’s why you came,” Shuichi asked Miu with a groan.

“The cumming comes at 2, Pooichi,” Miu cackled. “But, no. I came to offset my hangover. Speaking of, where’s the goddamn alcohol around this fuckin’ place?”

“There’s a bar over there,” Shuichi said, pointing. Miu followed his finger, noting a fancy bar with plenty of drinks and even an actual bartender.  _ This Angie chick really  _ is _ loaded, huh? _

Fishing in her pocket, Miu pulled out a bill, and handed it to Shuichi. “Here. Get me a shot of something, your choice.”

Shuichi stared at the bill for a moment, before taking it and shuffling off for the bar. Miu snickered to herself, leaning against the table and shoving her hands back in her hoodie pockets.

Kaede eyed her. “You really shouldn’t pick on Shuichi like that. He doesn’t really know how to stand up for himself.”

Miu shrugged. “We’ve always been like that. He doesn’t mind.”

“I’m sure he does. No one likes being pushed around.”

“‘Cept sadists,” Miu grinned.

Kaede regarded her flatly. “You’re really crude, you know that? And a bit mean. Calling Shuichi by that nickname is just cruel.”

A cold wash came over Miu. Instantly, she felt her confidence melt away, her shameful core exposed. “A-Ah...I’m just making j-jokes, y’know? It’s n-not serious!”

Kaede studied her. “Wow, that confidence doesn’t last long, huh?”

“Sh-Shut up! What the fuck would you know, p-piano freak?”

Strangely, Kaede began to laugh. Miu stared at her. “Wh-What?”

“It’s just, ‘piano freak’ is what I used to get called all the time back in high school,” Kaede said, smiling warmly as her laugh faded. “Like I said, piano is what I’ve done all my life. Even back then, all my time outside of school was spent practising. People knew how devoted I was to the piano, and they decided on that nickname. I can’t believe you managed to guess it!” She paused. “Wait, you didn’t go to my high school, did you?”

Miu blinked. “What? Of course not! That’s...you’re a fucking weirdo, Kaeidiot.”

Kaede grinned at her. “ _ There _ , that’s clever. You should’ve been in charge of coming up with my insulting high school nickname.”

Miu felt her cheeks flush as she met the blonde’s eyes. “W-Well, what do you expect from the smartest girl in Japan?”

A lull fell over the conversation as Kaede didn’t respond, instead continuing to smile at Miu. The inventor couldn’t stop herself from staring dumbly at the blonde, noting Kaede’s dazzling eyes, her beautiful hair, her lips--

“I got you vodka; hope that’s alright.”

Miu jumped, relaxing once she realized it was just Shuichi.  _ What the hell was that? _ She decided to brush off those...weird thoughts, and took the shot glass, downing it immediately.

“How’s the hangover?” Shuichi asked. Miu noticed he had a drink of his own in hand.

Admittedly, it had dulled since the time Miu had awoken earlier today and now. Still, there was a faint pain edging at the back of her head still, and she was eager to get rid of it. “Gonna be gone, in a second.”

“Sorry, I didn’t get you anything, Kaede,” Shuichi apologized. “Didn’t know if you wanted a drink.”

“That’s alright,” the blonde said, waving dismissively. “I’ve got a recital tomorrow.”

Miu frowned at her. “You’re playin’ a fucking performance tomorrow and you went to a  _ party _ ?”

“Not everyone’s interested in getting wasted or getting laid, Miu,” Kaede replied. “I came to this party to do what I’m doing right now--meet new people, talk with them, make friends.”

Miu froze. Her conversation with Shuichi earlier at the dorms echoed in her mind.  _ God damnit. Didn’t I say I wasn’t gonna do that? _ But she wasn’t making friends. Just chatting with some chick at a party. Nothing more than that.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she stood upright from leaning against the table. “I’m gettin’ another drink. You two go...fuckin’ mingle or whatever.” With that, she left them behind.


	2. Metronome

Miu awoke the next morning, hungover. Again. Groaning, she flopped over atop her sheets. Well, at least she’d managed to make it to the bed last night instead of falling asleep at her desk like she had the night before. And today’s hangover didn’t seem so bad, just a dull, throbbing pain at the base of her skull.

_ Thank god there aren’t any classes today, _ she thought in relief. Saturdays were off, of course, meaning that Miu was completely free. Free to draw up blueprints for new inventions, free to grab her equipment and get to building a new project, free to...to sit around and do nothing. Her head pounded, as if to drive the point home: Miu would be doing no inventing today.

Still, she forced herself to sit up, rubbing her head with a groan. Glancing at her wall clock, she noticed the time was just past noon.  _ That early? _ She’d thought she’d been out later last night.

The events of the party came rushing back to her. Arriving, talking to Shuichi, meeting that girl Kaede. Proceeding to have a bunch of drinks, make several inappropriate comments at passerby, then stumble out of the house and walk back to her dorm. Passing out on her bed, not even having the chance to get changed.

A good night, or it should have been. For some reason, Miu just felt dissatisfied. Something itched at her, but she couldn’t place what.

Her stomach gurgled. “Shit,” she muttered. The school’s cafeteria wasn’t open on the weekends, so if Miu wanted food she was going to have to go out and get it herself. Or cook. Not that she  _ could _ .  _ I should invent a machine that cooks for you, _ she thought. Another genius idea, which she filed away in a mental note, to write down later. For now, she was going to have to do what she usually did on Saturdays: get some fast food.

Standing up, ignoring the pain at the back of her head, she shuffled over to the mirror and examined herself. She still wore her party outfit from last night, though her hoodie threatened to fall off one arm. Her hair was matted on one side, bedhead from having flopped unceremoniously onto her bed the night prior. She looked like a mess, and felt like it as well. Though she wasn’t in love with the idea of going out looking awful, she also didn’t have enough brain power to actually put effort into her appearance, especially not for fast food. Sighing, she threw off her hoodie, changed her shirt, and nodded at her reflection. Good enough.

Grabbing her wallet and keys, Miu left the dorm, heading out into a sunny summer day. The sunlight only seemed to worsen her hangover, and she regretted having not put on a hat. Weaving her way through the streets, she eventually reached a McDonalds on a street corner. The building was appropriately busy for just after noon on a Saturday, but Miu got her burger without issue and sat down at a window seat to eat it.

For a moment, it felt like her hangover was subsiding. Miu felt her tension dissolve, her body relaxing as she held her burger.  _ This is what life should be. Nights out, and burgers. And people praising me for my inventions. No stupid Shuichi, none of his weird fuckin’ piano friends-- _

Kaede Akamatsu walked past the window.

Miu nearly choked on her bite. Coughing, she stared wide-eyed as the pianist strode casually past, a bag over her shoulder. Then, against all odds, Kaede  _ met Miu’s eyes _ . The inventor felt her heart drop.  _ Fuck. No. Not here, not when I’m still hungover. _ She still recalled how that stupid fuckin’ piano freak had broken past her barriers, made her feel all vulnerable. Miu never wanted to see her again.

Kaede didn’t seem to notice the dread on Miu’s face, and headed inside the McDonalds. “Miu!” She said with a smile, waving as she took a seat next to the inventor.

Miu hurriedly swallowed her bite. “Uh, hey.”

Kaede paused. “You... _ do _ remember me, right? You didn’t black out last night?”

“Yes I fuckin’ remember you,” Miu muttered. “What are you doing here? I thought you were practicin’ all hours of the day or some shit.”

“Normally I do,” Kaede replied, setting down her bag. “But my metronome broke, so I had to go out and buy a new one.”

Miu stared at her. “Can’t you download metronome apps?”

“What can I say, I’m a purist.” The blonde gave her her usual obnoxiously warm smile.

Miu eyed her, then turned to her burger and took a big bite.  _ Take the hint, piano freak, _ she thought in frustration.  _ I’m busy. Eating. Leave me alone. _

Instead, Kaede pulled out the metronome from the bag. It was a wooden thing with an upside down pendulum that would swing back and forth in a consistent rhythm. Miu smirked to herself. She didn’t know music, but she sure as hell knew machines.  _ I probably coulda put her broken metronome back together, _ an uninvited thought popped into her head. She blinked. No. She had no intentions of doing this girl any favours.

Whatever Kaede’s intent had been with pulling out the metronome, she was finished with it in moments, putting the device back in the bag. Perhaps she’d hoped it would spark further conversation?  _ Ha! _ Miu thought with a proud grin. Maybe now she’d go back to walking home or whatever and leave Miu alone.

“You said you were an inventor, right?”

_ Goddamnit. _

“Yeah,” Miu reluctantly replied.

“That’s really cool!” Kaede said, beaming as she leaned closer. Miu pulled back.  _ What’s with this girl’s perky fuckin’ attitude? _ “Have you invented anything so far?”

Miu hesitantly nodded. “Y-Yeah. My Spine Corrective Brace was my first big break. It helps fix any back issues you have. Goes right around your torso like a vest. I invented it in case you ever bend your back out of shape after having too much sex.”

Kaede froze. “Oh. Uh, that’s awesome!”

Miu chuckled. “Still getting cash flowing in from that one. I’ve also got my Portable Torso Table, my Light Adjustable Sunglasses, and my Hover Walker.” That last one admittedly hadn’t gone as well as her other inventions. “And those are just a few of the many genius inventions to come from the mind of Miu Iruma!”

Kaede giggled, and for a moment, as she studied the pianist, Miu felt her heart...skip. An odd feeling.  _ The hell? _

She didn’t have time to dwell on it. “Well, I’d love to see these inventions some time. When I’m not practicing, of course. Speaking of,” Kaede checked her watch--who wore a watch these days?--and turned back to Miu, “I’m pretty sure I need to get back soon. Sorry!”

_ Finally. _ “You weren’t kidding when you said you practice twenty-four seven, huh? Must fuckin’ suck to be a pianist. Don’t you get any free time?”

“Not usually,” Kaede said with an awkward laugh. “My mom is...pretty strict about my hours. Last night was the first time in months I got an evening to myself. Usually it’s all structured out, on a schedule. Most of my time is spent on the piano, of course, but my meals and even my time in the bathroom was all part of a giant routine.”

“Jesus,” Miu said. “That sounds like hell.”

“Ahaha...well, it can be grueling. But it’s all worth it when I perform. I love seeing people’s smiling faces when they hear me play.”

“Oh yeah, don’t you have a recital or some shit tonight?”

“Yep,” Kaede nodded. “At 7. Bad time for a broken metronome, huh?”

“Eh, it’s only, what, 1, right?” Miu shrugged. “You’ve still got time.”

Kaede’s eyes suddenly widened, beginning to almost sparkle. “You should come to my recital! If you’re not doing anything, tonight, of course.”

Miu back away. “Wh-What?” Come to...Kaede’s recital? “I…I guess I’m not d-doing anything.”  _ The fuck are you saying, Iruma? _ A part of her, the part not in control of her mouth apparently, mentally smacked her.  _ Don’t you want to get away from this chick? _

“Perfect!” Kaede’s smile was dazzling. “Shuichi’s coming too; you can go with him!”

“I--er, I uh…” Miu could only stammer. What was wrong with her? That smile...it was causing Miu’s mind to freeze, her heart rate to speed up.  _ This must be lingering effects from my hangover...or something. _ “C-Cool, well, I’m gonna g-go now.” She stood up quickly, but realized her burger was still only half finished.  _ This is so fucking embarrassing... _ swallowing her pride, Miu stuffed the sandwich into her mouth, forcing it down her throat, before shoving past Kaede.

“Wait!” Kaede called out, following behind her.

Miu groaned.  _ What fucking now? _ She turned to face the pianist, placing her hands on her hips. “What? I thought you h-hated me or something. Didn’t you call me crude and mean? Why do you care about me s-so much?”

Kaede pulled up short, seeming taken aback. “I don’t hate you. It’s true you were being rude earlier, but Shuichi explained things to me. You don’t  _ really _ mean the things you say. Plus, I...well, I don’t know. I can’t describe it. I guess I just...like you. Don’t you wanna be friends?”

Miu stared at her. “I...I’m honestly not sure.”

Oddly, Kaede gave her a small smile. “Then, I guess we’ll just have to...call this a trial run, right?”

Another heart skip.  _ What’s going on with me? _ And yet, Miu couldn’t help but return the pianist’s smile. “Yeah...I guess so.”

“You...you will come to the recital, right?”

“I...I fuckin’ guess.”

Kaede’s face lit up. “Yes! Thank you Miu!”

Miu reddened, looking away. “Y-Yeah. Whatever. Where is this fuckin’ performance gonna be, anyway?”

Still beaming, Kaede pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled something down on the table. She then handed it to Miu; in pristine handwriting the venue address was written.

“It starts at 7, but you should get there by 6:30 if you can.”

“Th-Thanks,” Miu muttered, stuffing the paper into her pocket. “S-So. Don’t you have to get back to being the best piano player in the country or something?”

Kaede laughed. “Yeah, I gotta get back. It was nice talking with you, though! I’ll see you at the recital, okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Miu managed, giving the pianist a small wave. With that, Kaede grabbed her bag and headed out, waving back and smiling broadly.  _ Geez, _ Miu thought. _ That girl is such a fucking weirdo. _

And yet, for all the dread Miu had experienced at the beginning of their interaction, she’d found herself...almost enjoying talking with the blonde. She didn’t know if that fact scared her or not. Kaede’s words still rang in her head, like a new idea for an invention that wouldn’t leave.  _ Don’t you wanna be friends? _

“God fucking damn you, Kaede,” she muttered.

The walk home proved to be cloudy, the morning’s sun now blocked by large swaths of cloud coverage. Kaede walked back to the dorms with her hands shoved in her pockets, her mind abuzz with thoughts she couldn’t resolve and emotions she couldn’t make sense of.

Soon enough, she’d arrived at her room, slamming the door shut and leaning back against it with a sigh. She felt...she didn’t know how she felt. That was the problem. Grinding her teeth together in frustration, she stormed over to her desk and flopped down on her chair, folding her arms. Whatever. She’d just work on a new blueprint, then, until the recital. That’d take her mind off  _ that _ whole mess.

_ So you really are going, then? _ A thought whispered.

Miu’s phone suddenly began to rang. She flinched, cursing as she pulled it out of her pocket and checked the caller ID.  _ The hell? _ Reluctantly, she put the device up to her ear. “Yeah?”

“Miu.” Her dad’s voice was just as stern and strict as ever. “I’m going to be dropping by to visit you tomorrow at 3. Be ready.”

Miu’s heart stopped. “Wh--Dad, wa--”

“This is not negotiable. I’ll see you then.”

And he hung up.

Miu dropped the phone from her ear, staring at it, dumbfounded. Her dad was coming by to see her? Tomorrow? A sick feeling began to permeate her body.

_ Oh god. _


End file.
